2023 Dutch provincial elections

Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands on 15 March 2023, on the same day as the water board elections, as well as island council elections in the Caribbean Netherlands.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The elections resulted in a victory for the Farmer–Citizen Movement, which had been formed three years prior; the BBB won the popular vote and the most seats in all twelve provinces. (It tied for most seats with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in North and South Holland, and with GroenLinks in Utrecht.)^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] It was the first time in Dutch history a political party managed to win the popular vote in all twelve provinces.

These elections also indirectly determined the composition of the Senate, for the members of the twelve provincial states, alongside electoral colleges elected on the same day, elected the Senate's 75 members in the Senate election on 30 May, two months after the provincial elections.^[8]^[9]

Electoral system

Elections for the provincial councils of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands are held every four years in March using the D'Hondt method. Voters also have the option to cast a preferential vote. The seats won by a list are first allocated to the candidates who, in preferential votes, have received at least 25% of the number of votes needed for one seat, regardless of their placement on the electoral list. If multiple candidates from a list pass this threshold, their ordering is determined based on the number of votes received. Any remaining seats are allocated to candidates according to their placement on the electoral list.^[10] The size of the provincial councils ranges from 39 members for a province with fewer than 400,000 inhabitants to 55 members for a province with more than 2,000,000 inhabitants. As of 2023 there are a total of 572 seats in the provincial councils.

Participating parties

As of 21 December 2022, 49 parties have been registered with the Electoral Council for participation in general elections, which carries over to provincial elections.^[11] Parties can also participate in a province by registering their party name in that province instead of nationally.^[12] Which parties participate differs per province, with most large parties represented in the House of Representatives participating in all provinces and some local and smaller national parties also participating.

Opinion polling

Seats summary

Legislatures and governments of the Provinces of the Netherlands, 2023–2027^[13]
Provincial councils
Province	BBB	VVD	GL	PvdA	CDA	PVV	D66	PvdD	SP	CU	SGP	JA21	FVD	Volt	50+	Provincial parties	Total
Province																	Total
Drenthe	17	4	2	4	3	2	1	2	2	2		1	1	1		1 SLD 1	43
Overijssel	17	4	4	3	4	2	2	1	1	3	2	2	1	1			47
Friesland	14	3	3	5	4	2	1	1	1	2	-	1	1	-		5 FNP 4 PBF 1	43
Gelderland	14	6	5	5	4	2	3	2	2	3	3	2	1	2	1		55
Groningen	12	2	5	5	2	2	2	2	2	3			1	1		4 GB 3 PvhN 1	43
North Brabant	11	9	5	4	4	4	4	2	4	1		2	1	1	1	2 LB 2	55
Flevoland	10	4	3	3	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	-	1	1 SLF 1	41
Limburg	10	5	4	3	5	6	3	2	3		-	2	1	-	1	2 L-L 2	47
South Holland	8	8	6	4	4	4	4	3	2	2	2	4	2	1	1		55
Zeeland	9	4	6		5	2	1	1	1	1	5	1	1	-		2 PvZ 2	39
North Holland	8	8	7	7	2	3	4	4	2	1	-	3	2	2	2		55
Utrecht	7	6	7	3	4	2	5	3	1	3	2	2	1	2	1		49
Total	137	63	51	46	43	34	32	25	23	22	16	22	15	11	8	17	572
Total	137	63	6		43	34	32	25	23	1		22	15	11	8	17	572

A “-” in the table means that the party in question has not submitted a list of candidates for the 2023 election in that province.

Detailed results

National


23 25 51 6 46 11 32 22 1 1 16 8 43 63 137 16 22 34 15
Party or alliance		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Netherlands with a PLAN	3,518	0.05	New	0	New
	Powerful Flevoland	2,879	0.04	New	0	New
	On behalf of North-Hollanders	2,337	0.03	New	0	New
	Look Back!	1,320	0.02	New	0	New
	BLACK PETE IS BLACK	742	0.01	New	0	New
	Heart for Freedom	228	0.00	New	0	New
Total		7,754,944	100.00	–	572	+2

Valid votes		7,754,944	99.41
Invalid votes		19,956	0.26
Blank votes		25,921	0.33
Total votes		7,800,821	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		13,265,777	58.80	+2.64
Source: Kiesraad

By Province

Drenthe



Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Farmer–Citizen Movement	88,176	33.41	New	17	New
	Labour Party	24,861	9.42	–4.64	4	–2
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	20,434	7.74	–5.31	4	–2
	Christian Democratic Appeal	15,563	5.90	–4.65	3	–2
	GroenLinks	14,756	5.59	–2.71	2	–2
	Party for Freedom	13,681	5.18	–1.87	2	–1
	Christian Union	12,803	4.85	–1.95	2	–1
	Socialist Party	12,534	4.75	–1.72	2	–1
	Party for the Animals	11,167	4.23	+0.80	2	+1
	Democrats 66	9,981	3.78	–1.91	1	–1
	Forum for Democracy	7,888	2.99	–10.46	1	–5
	Volt	7,734	2.93	New	1	New
	Strong Local Drenthe	7,485	2.84	–1.25	1	0
	JA21	6,368	2.41	New	1	New
	50PLUS	3,446	1.31	–2.39	0	–1
	BVNL	3,257	1.23	New	0	New
	Reformed Political Party	2,611	0.99	+0.19	0	0
	Alliance	839	0.32	New	0	New
	Jesus Lives	298	0.11	New	0	New
Total		263,882	100.00	–	43	+2

Valid votes		263,882	99.56
Invalid votes		554	0.21
Blank votes		601	0.23
Total votes		265,037	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		399,405	66.36	+7.55
Source: Kiesraad

Flevoland



Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Farmer–Citizen Movement	33,987	20.83	New	10	New
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	16,321	10.00	–3.17	4	–2
	Party for Freedom	12,474	7.64	–1.63	3	–1
	Labour Party	12,391	7.59	–0.62	3	0
	GroenLinks	11,239	6.89	–1.64	3	–1
	Christian Union	9,620	5.89	–1.14	2	–1
	Democrats 66	9,255	5.67	+0.78	2	0
	Christian Democratic Appeal	8,277	5.07	–3.24	2	–1
	JA21	7,571	4.64	New	2	New
	Party for the Animals	7,423	4.55	+0.17	2	0
	Forum for Democracy	7,343	4.50	–13.29	2	–6
	Socialist Party	6,915	4.24	–1.59	2	0
	Reformed Political Party	6,835	4.19	+0.35	2	+1
	Strong Local Flevoland	4,518	2.77	New	1	New
	50PLUS	4,048	2.48	–2.45	1	–1
	Powerful Flevoland	2,879	1.76	New	0	New
	BVNL	2,104	1.29	New	0	New
Total		163,200	100.00	–	41	–

Valid votes		163,200	99.36
Invalid votes		457	0.28
Blank votes		588	0.36
Total votes		164,245	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		313,632	52.37	–1.22
Source: Kiesraad

Friesland



Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Farmer–Citizen Movement	94,458	27.86	New	14	New
	Labour Party	36,023	10.62	–2.78	5	–1
	Christian Democratic Appeal	29,669	8.75	–7.92	4	–4
	Frisian National Party	27,298	8.05	+0.12	4	0
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	22,843	6.74	–2.67	3	–1
	GroenLinks	22,181	6.54	–1.15	3	0
	Christian Union	17,883	5.27	–1.33	2	–1
	Party for Freedom	15,102	4.45	–1.35	2	–1
	Forum for Democracy	12,366	3.65	–9.78	1	–5
	Socialist Party	11,724	3.46	–1.71	1	–1
	Party for the Animals	11,402	3.36	+0.14	1	0
	Democrats 66	11,237	3.31	–0.81	1	–1
	JA21	9,096	2.68	New	1	New
	Provincial Interests Frisia	6,891	2.03	+0.24	1	+1
	BVNL	6,033	1.78	New	0	New
	50PLUS	2,903	0.86	–1.69	0	–1
	General Water Board Party	1,971	0.58	New	0	New
Total		339,080	100.00	–	43	–

Valid votes		339,080	99.54
Invalid votes		730	0.21
Blank votes		844	0.25
Total votes		340,654	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		519,118	65.62	+6.50
Source: Kiesraad

Gelderland



Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Farmer–Citizen Movement	244,553	23.59	New	14	New
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	103,454	9.98	–3.98	6	–2
	Labour Party	92,417	8.92	+0.59	5	0
	GroenLinks	84,323	8.13	–2.70	5	–1
	Christian Democratic Appeal	72,703	7.01	–4.57	4	–3
	Christian Union	57,355	5.53	–1.25	3	–1
	Democrats 66	54,943	5.30	–1.90	3	–1
	Reformed Political Party	52,420	5.06	–0.19	3	0
	Party for the Animals	46,502	4.49	+0.03	2	0
	Party for Freedom	42,578	4.11	–1.95	2	–1
	Volt	38,371	3.70	New	2	New
	JA21	36,402	3.51	New	2	New
	Socialist Party	36,090	3.48	–2.35	2	–1
	Forum for Democracy	26,447	2.55	–10.88	1	–7
	50PLUS	20,078	1.94	–1.87	1	–1
	Local Parties Gelderland	16,512	1.59	+0.41	0	0
	BVNL	6,812	0.66	New	0	New
	OUR Gelderland	4,680	0.45	New	0	New
Total		1,036,640	100.00	–	55	–

Valid votes		1,036,640	99.49
Invalid votes		2,120	0.20
Blank votes		3,192	0.31
Total votes		1,041,952	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,618,965	64.36	+5.81
Source: Kiesraad

Groningen



Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Farmer–Citizen Movement	67,744	23.54	New	12	New
	Labour Party	28,705	9.98	–2.01	5	0
	GroenLinks	27,767	9.65	–2.84	5	–1
	Christian Union	18,170	6.31	–3.14	3	–1
	Groningers' Interests [nl]	17,385	6.04	–1.23	3	0
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	16,289	5.66	–2.83	2	–2
	Socialist Party	15,952	5.54	–3.14	2	–2
	Democrats 66	15,464	5.37	–1.18	2	–1
	Party for the Animals	14,421	5.01	+0.93	2	+1
	Party for Freedom	13,478	4.68	–1.30	2	0
	Christian Democratic Appeal	11,712	4.07	–4.01	2	–2
	Volt	10,927	3.80	New	1	New
	Party for the North	8,331	2.90	–1.22	1	–1
	Forum for Democracy	7,018	2.44	–7.78	1	–4
	JA21	4,961	1.72	New	0	New
	50PLUS	4,140	1.44	–0.77	0	–1
	Reformed Political Party	3,181	1.11	New	0	New
	BVNL	1,856	0.64	New	0	New
	Jesus Lives	259	0.09	New	0	New
Total		287,760	100.00	–	43	–

Valid votes		287,760	99.52
Invalid votes		597	0.21
Blank votes		792	0.27
Total votes		289,149	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		462,817	62.48	+6.41
Source: Kiesraad

Limburg



Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Farmer–Citizen Movement	86,392	18.47	New	10	New
	Party for Freedom	59,290	12.68	–0.87	6	–1
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	44,736	9.56	–0.60	5	0
	Christian Democratic Appeal	43,319	9.26	–9.39	5	–4
	GroenLinks	40,819	8.73	+0.32	4	0
	Labour Party	32,646	6.98	+0.45	3	0
	Socialist Party	31,213	6.67	–2.01	3	–1
	Democrats 66	28,401	6.07	+0.27	3	0
	Local Limburg	20,128	4.30	+0.24	2	0
	JA21	19,170	4.10	New	2	New
	Party for the Animals	17,574	3.76	–0.08	2	0
	Forum for Democracy	15,876	3.39	–11.18	1	–6
	50PLUS	11,773	2.52	–1.24	1	0
	Limburg Seniors Party	4,136	0.88	New	0	New
	BVNL	4,013	0.86	New	0	New
	Christian Union	3,464	0.74	–0.33	0	0
	General Water Board Party	2,598	0.56	New	0	New
	Look Back!	1,320	0.28	New	0	New
	Jesus Lives	631	0.13	New	0	New
	Heart for Freedom	228	0.05	New	0	New
Total		467,727	100.00	–	47	–

Valid votes		467,727	99.28
Invalid votes		1,293	0.27
Blank votes		2,078	0.44
Total votes		471,098	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		873,557	53.93	+1.36
Source: Kiesraad

North Brabant


Christian Union – Reformed Political Party							17,372	1.59	–0.33	1	0
	BVNL	9,626	0.88	New	0	New
	Alliance	6,620	0.60	New	0	New
	General Water Board Party	5,104	0.47	New	0	New
	Elderly Appeal - Heart for Brabant	4,245	0.39	–0.27	0	0
	Jesus Lives	814	0.07	New	0	New
Total		1,095,904	100.00	–	55	–

Valid votes		1,095,904	99.40
Invalid votes		2,595	0.24
Blank votes		3,977	0.36
Total votes		1,102,476	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,987,470	55.47	+2.90
Source: Kiesraad

North Holland


Netherlands with a PLAN							3,518	0.30	New	0	New
	On behalf of North-Hollanders	2,337	0.20	New	0	New
	Jesus Lives	1,158	0.10	New	0	New
Total		1,186,512	100.00	–	55	–

Valid votes		1,186,512	99.32
Invalid votes		3,684	0.31
Blank votes		4,448	0.37
Total votes		1,194,644	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,102,298	56.83	+0.49
Source: Kiesraad

Overijssel



Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Farmer–Citizen Movement	185,921	31.45	New	17	New
	Christian Democratic Appeal	48,488	8.20	–8.90	4	–5
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	47,074	7.96	–4.98	4	–2
	GroenLinks	43,825	7.41	–2.07	4	–1
	Labour Party	39,599	6.70	–1.80	3	–1
	Christian Union	34,807	5.89	–2.37	3	–1
	Party for Freedom	28,864	4.88	–2.30	2	–1
	Reformed Political Party	21,621	3.66	–0.25	2	0
	Democrats 66	21,270	3.60	–2.17	2	–1
	JA21	21,046	3.56	New	2	New
	Party for the Animals	21,010	3.55	+0.52	1	0
	Socialist Party	17,632	2.98	–2.90	1	–2
	Volt	17,617	2.98	New	1	New
	Forum for Democracy	16,091	2.72	–10.55	1	–5
	Together Local Twente	9,035	1.53	New	0	New
	50PLUS	7,114	1.20	–2.23	0	–1
	Alliance	4,794	0.81	New	0	New
	BVNL	4,615	0.78	New	0	New
	Jesus Lives	701	0.12	New	0	New
Total		591,124	100.00	–	47	–

Valid votes		591,124	99.48
Invalid votes		1,419	0.24
Blank votes		1,675	0.28
Total votes		594,218	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		913,363	65.06	+5.79
Source: Kiesraad

South Holland


DENK							22,068	1.48	–1.25	0	–1
	BVNL	18,341	1.23	New	0	New
	General Water Board Party	13,797	0.93	New	0	New
	GOLD	6,105	0.41	New	0	New
	Jesus Lives	1,123	0.08	+0.03	0	0
Total		1,487,914	100.00	–	55	–

Valid votes		1,487,914	99.33
Invalid votes		4,682	0.31
Blank votes		5,398	0.36
Total votes		1,497,994	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,747,402	54.52	+0.03
Source: Kiesraad

Utrecht


DENK							10,356	1.59	–0.54	0	–1
	U26 Municipalities	7,646	1.17	+0.11	0	0
	BVNL	4,666	0.72	New	0	New
	BLACK PETE IS BLACK	742	0.11	New	0	New
Total		652,494	100.00	–	49	–

Valid votes		652,494	99.49
Invalid votes		1,425	0.22
Blank votes		1,894	0.29
Total votes		655,813	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,033,686	63.44	+1.87
Source: Kiesraad

Zeeland



Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Farmer–Citizen Movement	36,100	19.76	New	9	New
	Labour Party – GroenLinks	24,537	13.43	–0.82	6	0
	Reformed Political Party	22,692	12.42	+0.36	5	–1
	Christian Democratic Appeal	20,892	11.43	–4.84	5	–2
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	16,294	8.92	–1.36	4	0
	Party for Freedom	8,707	4.77	–1.47	2	0
	Party for Zeeland	8,458	4.63	–1.58	2	0
	Christian Union	7,861	4.30	–0.92	1	–1
	Democrats 66	7,171	3.92	+0.17	1	0
	JA21	6,287	3.44	New	1	New
	Party for the Animals	6,287	3.44	–0.06	1	0
	Socialist Party	6,034	3.30	–1.52	1	–1
	Forum for Democracy	5,460	2.99	–8.81	1	–4
	50PLUS	2,872	1.57	–3.56	0	–2
	General Water Board Party	1,621	0.89	New	0	New
	BVNL	1,434	0.78	New	0	New
Total		182,707	100.00	–	39	–

Valid votes		182,707	99.55
Invalid votes		400	0.22
Blank votes		434	0.24
Total votes		183,541	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		294,064	62.42	+3.27
Source: Kiesraad

References

^ "Dag van stemming Provinciale Staten - Activiteit - Kiesraad.nl". 15 March 2023.
^ "Dag van stemming waterschapsverkiezingen - Activiteit - Kiesraad.nl". 15 March 2023.
^ "Dag van stemming eilandsraadverkiezingen - Activiteit - Kiesraad.nl". 15 March 2023.
^ Corder, Mike (16 March 2023). "Populist Farmer Citizen Movement wins big in Dutch election". Associated Press. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
^ Camut, Nicolas (16 March 2023). "Dutch pro-farmers party wins big in provincial elections". Politico. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
^ Holligan, Anna; Kirby, Paul (16 March 2023). "Farmers' protest party win shock Dutch vote victory". BBC News. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
^ Meijer, Bart H. (16 March 2023). "Dutch farmers' protest party scores big election win, shaking up Senate". Reuters. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
^ "Dag van stemming kiescollegeverkiezingen - Activiteit - Kiesraad.nl". 15 March 2023.
^ "Dag van stemming Eerste Kamerverkiezing - Activiteit - Kiesraad.nl". 30 May 2023.
^ "Zetelverdeling over kandidaten - Verkiezingen - Kiesraad.nl". 22 April 2016.
^ "Openbare kennisgeving van de voor de Tweede Kamerverkiezingen geregistreerde aanduidingen i.v.m. Doorwerking". 21 December 2022.
^ "Partijnamen - Verkiezingen - Kiesraad.nl". 22 April 2016.
^ "Bekijk hier alle uitslagen van de Provinciale Statenverkiezingen". NOS (in Dutch). 15 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.

[1] "Dag van stemming Provinciale Staten - Activiteit - Kiesraad.nl". 15 March 2023.

[2] "Dag van stemming waterschapsverkiezingen - Activiteit - Kiesraad.nl". 15 March 2023.

[3] "Dag van stemming eilandsraadverkiezingen - Activiteit - Kiesraad.nl". 15 March 2023.

[4] Corder, Mike (16 March 2023). "Populist Farmer Citizen Movement wins big in Dutch election". Associated Press. Retrieved 20 March 2023.

[5] Camut, Nicolas (16 March 2023). "Dutch pro-farmers party wins big in provincial elections". Politico. Retrieved 20 March 2023.

[BBC2023-6] Holligan, Anna; Kirby, Paul (16 March 2023). "Farmers' protest party win shock Dutch vote victory". BBC News. Retrieved 20 March 2023.

[7] Meijer, Bart H. (16 March 2023). "Dutch farmers' protest party scores big election win, shaking up Senate". Reuters. Retrieved 20 March 2023.

[8] "Dag van stemming kiescollegeverkiezingen - Activiteit - Kiesraad.nl". 15 March 2023.

[9] "Dag van stemming Eerste Kamerverkiezing - Activiteit - Kiesraad.nl". 30 May 2023.

[10] "Zetelverdeling over kandidaten - Verkiezingen - Kiesraad.nl". 22 April 2016.

[11] "Openbare kennisgeving van de voor de Tweede Kamerverkiezingen geregistreerde aanduidingen i.v.m. Doorwerking". 21 December 2022.

[12] "Partijnamen - Verkiezingen - Kiesraad.nl". 22 April 2016.

[NOS_election_results-13] "Bekijk hier alle uitslagen van de Provinciale Statenverkiezingen". NOS (in Dutch). 15 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.

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v t e Elections and referendums in the Netherlands
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